Over the past seven years, the Mountain State Fair and the N.C. State Fair have received numerous awards for agricultural programs from the International Association of Fairs and Expositions.

The N.C. Farm to School Program had a record $1.4 million in sales in the 2012-2013 school year. The program is a partnership of the NCDA&CS Food Distribution and Marketing divisions.

The department's Veterinary Diagnostic Lab System received full accreditation by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians in 2008. It’s a stamp of approval that the results coming out of the lab are accurate. Prior to 2008, the lab had only provisional accreditation.

The department received the 2011 Elliot O. Grosvenor Food Safety Award from the Association of Food and Drug Officials. The department is the first state agency to receive this award, which recognizes outstanding achievement by food safety programs.

The Food and Drug Protection Division’s Rapid Response Manual has been hailed as a national model by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The ADFP Trust Fund also has helped counties with other tools to protect farmland. Today, 86 counties have established Voluntary Agricultural Districts, and 48 counties have approved farmland protection plans.

The Got to Be NC Agriculture program received a 2006 Marketing Excellence Award from Produce Magazine.